Dipper's Weakness
by SwiftilySquirrel
Summary: Dipper is sick. Mabel wants to take care of him, but little does she realize what she's really doing. Probably wont have any inappropriate content at all, but rated K-plus just in case. [Gravity Falls not owned by me (obviously) And this is my first fanfic (on here at least) so I appreciate any feedback/reviews I get. :3 Also: SPOILERS for Sock Opera]
1. Chapter 1: deCIPHER

Mabel stirred from her slumber and stretched her arms before throwing off her covers and walking cheerfully to her closet to choose today's sweater. Her shooting star one was her favorite, so she decided to wear it on today's mystery twin adventure. She looked outside the window and noticed the sky was gray. This wasn't really strange, considering they were in Oregon, which got more rain than states south of it, such as California.

She looked at her brother in his bed to the left of her. It was pretty common he would sleep in, because he often stayed up late figuring out codes in his journal or reading his summer reading books. Although, he hadn't kept her up with his unusually loud reading, so he had probably sneaked outside on the roof.

"**Wake up, kids!**" Mabel heard the voice of her very favorite gruncle, Stan!

"**Okay, coming!**" She called back before beginning to shake Dipper awake. "**Dipper, come on, time for breakfast!**"

He groaned a little before rolling onto his back and drowsily sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He looked extra tired this morning. "**Morning.**" He said, voice immediately cracking. Mabel giggled a little, then grabbed his hand and pulled him downstairs, causing him to stumble after her.

"**What was that for, Mabel?**" He asked hoarsely, glaring at her.

"**You needed to get out of bed, Dipping Sauce!**" He rolled his eyes and the twins walked into the kitchen. He sat down in his chair and yawned. Wendy had come to work early because she was coming on the mystery hunt as well as to cook some breakfast. She wasn't much of a cook, but she made some simple pancakes, which was good enough for the mystery twins.

"**You really need to get more sleep, Dipper.**" Wendy commented as she saw the dark circles under his eyes and observed how labored his movements were.

"**Y-yeah, I know. I was just so close to discovering this one thing.**" He gave her a weak smile before beginning to eat his food. Wendy gave him a slightly worried frown. Hopefully he wouldn't be too tired to keep up on today's adventure. Knowing him though, he would be able to stay awake and be alert as soon as they started.

Today was a slow day for the shack, as tourists didn't really like to hang around in the rain, so Stan let us go early. If a tourist group or two came, he could handle them. "**You kids be careful out there.**" He advised as they ran out the door.

"**So where are we heading, anyway?**" Wendy asked Dipper as they walked into the forest.

"**You'll see.**" Dipper said as he flipped through his book. He still seemed pretty tired. Wendy and Mabel looked at each other for a second, but said nothing. After all, he was just tired, right?

~~~~~

Mabel laughed as the trio left the lair of one of the many beasts inside of Dipper's journal. Dipper himself had remained kind of sluggish the whole time and was lagging behind as he wrote down more information on the monster. Mabel looked back at him. "**Come on, Dipper! It's starting to rain!**" Dipper jumped slightly, startled by Mabel addressing him so suddenly and loudly. He closed the book and put it under his vest so it wouldn't get wet, then he caught up to Wendy and Mabel, stumbling slightly before he reached them.

"**You need me to carry you, Dip?**" Wendy asked, her smile mildly worried.

Dipper blushed at this. "**N-no, I'm fine. I just stayed up wayyy too long last night.**" Wendy gave him another look for a moment, then sighed and shrugged. The three made their way back to the mystery shack. By the time they got there, they were running and drenched with rainwater. An out of breath Dipper was the last inside and shut the door forcefully, sliding down it and sitting with his back against it, panting and looking absolutely exhausted.

Stan came inside from the other room. "**How'd it go?**" He asked. Mabel jumped toward him excitedly.

"**It was so fun! We found the monster's cave really quickly and on the way I saw a shiny rock AND a butterfly and then we entered the cave...**" Mabel's voice faded as Dipper made his way upstairs. He was suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness and almost fell down the stairs when he was half way up. Wendy heard him stumble and peered into the room.

"**Dipper...?**"

"**Just slipped. G-gonna change into dry clothes now!**" His voice cracked again and he closed the attic door before Wendy had a chance to respond. He took his shoes off and looked in the mirror. "**What's wrong with me today?**" He was feeling much more weak and tired than usual, and it was stressing him out a little, making him jumpy. He sighed and changed out of his soaked clothes. He then flopped onto his bed, put the blanket over him, and opened his journal, continuing writing in the stuff they had just discovered. His eyes felt heavy and so did his whole body and limbs. He found himself falling asleep on the journal very shortly.

~~~~~

"**Dipper~! Dinner!**" Mabel called, running into the room. She was surprised to find he was already asleep on his bed, on top of his journal, no less! Maybe he wasn't hungry. Still, couldn't have him sleeping on his journal; he would be upset if he drooled on it. Mable took the liberty of lifting up Dipper's head and picking up the journal and putting it on the nightstand. Something seemed... off. She put her hand on Dipper's forehead. It felt oddly warm, but not absolutely burning up.

She tucked him in better before heading back downstairs. "**The kid not coming?**" Stan asked.

"**No, he's been really tired all day and he's sleeping now. He felt kinda warm, too; I think he's sick.**"

"**That's too bad. Well, he'll tough it out.**" Stan began eating his food again. Mabel sat down and ate hers too. once in a while, she would glance at Dipper's empty seat.

"**I'm done, I think I'll take Dipper's up to him.**" Mabel discarded her empty plate where it could get washed and picked up Dipper's stuff, bringing it up to the attic. Once there, she shut the door and put it down next to the journal. She gently shook Dipper to try to wake him up. "**Hey, wake up, Dip! Want to eat something?**"

Her brother groaned a little and coughed. He then pushed himself to a sitting position with his hands, similar to that morning, except he looked worse. His dark circles were darker and he looked pretty pale other than his cheeks, which were flushed with fever. His fever had gone higher while Mabel was eating her dinner. "**N-nah... n-not too hungry...**" His voice was hoarse and raspy.

Mabel whimpered and felt her brother's forehead again. "**L-lie down, Dipper. I'll go get something for you.**" She helped him back to a laying position and dashed out of the room.

Dipper curled up in his blankets as the room spun around him. His head was aching a lot and he was very dizzy. He closed his eyes for but a moment, and when he opened them, he found himself on the couch in the living room with Mabel next to his feet and gruncle Stan on his chair watching baby fights. Dipper slowly sat up and Mabel looked at him and smile with her cute braces teeth.

"**Feeling any better, bro?**" She asked him. He was still pretty dizzy and his throat hurt, but he was less tired than earlier. He didn't know it, but Mabel had given him medicine while he was half-conscious after being brought down. He had a soft blanket and one of Mabel's sweaters on.

"**Y-yeah, thanks Mabel.**" He answered, voice hoarse and cracking more than usual. Mabel felt his forehead, which was damp with sweat, but his temperature had went down from before.

"**Geez, don't scare me like that, Dipper! If you're feeling bad, you can just tell us.**" She exclaimed. He just nodded, put his head back, and sat with his knees up and the blanket covering everything but his head. He stared blankly at the TV screen. Mabel leaned against him gently to try to comfort him like they did for each other when they were younger and not feeling good.

Stan wasn't as loud at watching TV as usual. He had been a bit worried about Dipper too, since the poor kid had been feeling pretty weak and his temperature was around 104.6. It was lowered by now, though. He winced slightly as he heard rough coughs coming from Dipper's direction. "**Some cough you got there, kid. Get some rest.**"

Mabel was mildly surprised; Stan seemed to actually be a bit worried about Dipper. Dipper sniffled and pulled the blanket over himself better and laid sideways with his back to Mabel, Stan, and the TV. He groaned a little and leaned against Mabel's shoulder, coughing some more. "**Shhh, shhh, it's okay.**" Mabel gently stroked his head. "**I think I'll head upstairs early tonight, gruncle Stan. Good night!**" She helped Dipper onto his feet with the blanket around his shoulders.

"**Good night. Feel better, kid.**" Dipper gave him a little smile in return as they passed Stan on the way to the attic. To his dismay, he could hardly walk and each of his steps was shaky. Mabel finally got him into bed and made sure he was tucked in. His dinner plate was gone from the nightstand and Mabel had put the journal in its hiding place again. He closed his eyes as Mabel said a 'goodnight' to him, and drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~

It was around 3AM when Dipper woke up again. He was kinda feeling better after that sleep. He got up with the blanket around his shoulders, grabbed his journal, and shakily made his way downstairs. He decided to go on the roof and try to decode more of the journal, and stumbled up the ladder, nearly falling off. He shivered as he got outside. It was kind of cold from the rain that day. Fortunately, it had stopped, but he was still pretty cold. He covered more coughs with his blanket and pulled out the journal and his black-light. It was about fifteen minutes before his head began pounding like it had been before and his nose was all stuffed up. He sniffled, then jumped as right after he turned to the next page, lightning sounded and a very familiar laugh. It was that triangle moron! What did he want?

"**Hey there, Pine Tree! Long time no see!**" Bill said cheerfully, twirling his cane menacingly.


	2. Chapter 2: Shooting Star

"**Ughhh... Wh-what do you want this time, Bill?**" Dipper sounded mildly annoyed and looked up at the triangle guy with exhausted eyes. He was kinda too weak to be very scared or freaked out now. It was sort of out of character for Dipper to be this calm when facing a foe like Bill Cipher, especially in his state. Bill was actually a bit surprised at his not-frightened reaction.

"**Oh, just came to visit my poor, ****_weak_**** pal, Pine Tree.**" Dipper could swear he could see a smirk in the demon's eye. "**You sure you wouldn't care for that screaming head?**" He conjured up that awful head thing again, laughing as Dipper attempted to kick it away. He snapped his fingers and it vanished grotesquely again.

"**Same old tricks? N-not very creative, are we?**" Dipper croaked. Bill simply laughed.

"**Mind telling me how that hand of yours is doing, kid?**"

Dipper rubbed his wrist that Bill had somehow messed up while he was possessed. He wasn't really sure exactly what Bill had done to it, but it only sort of hurt now, so that was good... he thought? "**J-just fine, no thanks to you.**" Bill chuckled again. This laughing was really getting annoying and making Dipper's head hurt more. The kid shivered a bit and pulled his blankets toward him better. "**If you're done, I-I'd like to go back to bed now.**"

"**Hmmm... let me think about this for a second. With you in this state, it should be a piece of cake for me to steal the journal from you. Like taking candy from a baby!**"

Dipper was now alert. The dumb triangle guy was right; he was too weak to stop him from getting the journal. He had to think fast. Perhaps if he could get Bill to take his body again, he could grab some sort of vessel and take the book somewhere safe. He had to do this fast because the cold was getting overwhelming and he was probably getting his fever back from this stress and the weather.

"**Guess it would be. It would also be pretty easy for you to steal my body again, right?**" Dipper suggested lightly.

"**Nice try, kid, but I'm not possessing a weak body like yours again. Especially when you're like... that.**"

"**But I have m-much more sleep than I did when I was your puppet, and you can try out some new pain.Y-you think pain's funny, right?**" Dipper protested.

"**Yes, but I'm not one to take orders from my enemy.**" Bill flashed red for a second when he said 'enemy'. Dipper had to think fast, which was difficult in his condition. He seemed to just be irritating the demon triangle. The kid didn't really want to feel whatever wrath Bill Cipher was about to dish out.

"**F-fair point... but you said it yourself-**" Dipper paused to cough. "**You're a being o-of pure energy and n-no weaknesses, right? You aren't s-scared of being in my body, are you? It's n-not like you'd let us d-defeat you again.**"

"**Well... it is true. Plus the fact that you're already holding the book and it would be easy for me to get it, so... alright. You got yourself a deal, kid.**" Bill proceeded to kick Dipper's soul out and settled inside the human vessel. He tried to laugh, only to start coughing some. "**Ahh, just as hilarious as I remember. Hurts to breath, talk, I love it. Brings back them old memories, huh, kid?**" Cipher's voice had the hoarseness just like Dipper had.

"**You know, that wasn't very long ago, Bill.**" Dipper said, raising an eyebrow. He never thought he'd actually feel relief being out of that body and giving it to Bill. Now that he was out, he could think much more clearly.

"**Now to destroy the journal.**" Bill took the journal out from under the blanket and grinned. He then proceeded to attempt to tear it apart. Dipper stared wide-eyed at him, then realized it was taking a surprisingly long time for him to do it. His body was to weak to do much damage the way Bill was trying to go about it. Bill was growing very irritated. Dipper looked around for something to use as a vessel. Then he realized he could just possess the blanket because it was sorta like a puppet, right? He probably couldn't talk with it, but he could certainly snatch the book away from Bill.

Bill made a sound of dismay as the blanket was pulled off of him. He was still wearing the sweater Mabel had put on dipper, but he was also in shorts and he was freezing even more now. "**You better g-give that back, Pine Tree!**" He tried to grab it, but to no avail as Dipper was floating too high up.

For once, Dipper felt... powerful. The adrenaline from suddenly not feeling the weight of illness as well as tricking Cipher into his weak, helpless body. This was too much. It was Dipper's turn to laugh. "**Ha! You are ****_not_**** getting this journal from me any time soon! Who's the powerful one, now?**"

Bill struggled to escape from the human body, but it was too suffocating and it felt like chains were holding him in ever so tightly. He bared his teeth at Dipper, then his expression changed into a sort of realization. "**Y-you're... acting like me now, huh Pine Tree?**"

"**Hmmm...**" Dipper thought for a second. "**Guess I am.**" The kid under the blanket grinned and laughed more, then flew off with the bedding and the book into the forest.

If Bill were in his triangle form, he would be glowing bright red and pounding that kid to dust by now. He was furious, and tired. He then decided it would be in his best interest to go inside. He would show that Pine Tree. He would show him.

Although, he did feel kind of proud of Dipper. He was embracing a new evil side of himself, a more Bill-like side.

The weak little Bipper then took a tumble down the ladder, landing with a heavy thud at the bottom. He sat up shakily, but grinned. This pain thing was just as funny before; it never seemed to lose its flavor.

~~~~~

Mabel jumped awake as she heard a loud thump from downstairs. She looked over at Dipper's bed and saw he was missing. _Oh no._

She dashed downstairs as fast as she could and ran to hug him as she saw him rising up from the floor next to the ladder that opened up to the roof. "**Dip, you're too sick to be out there. Come on, let's get you to bed.**" Mabel said, unusually worried compared to her usual mood. Before Bill had any chance to protest, she was giving him a piggyback ride up the stairs to their room.

She set him down on Dipper's bed and put her hand on his forehead. "**Come on, Dipping Sauce, I'm supposed to be the rebellious twin, you have to stay inside and rest.**"

"**G-geez, Shootin' Star, I'm resting, I'm resting...**" He was too late to realize he called her the wrong thing. Bill tensed up slightly and Mabel let his words sink in. Fortunately, his voice was too hoarse to be distinguished as his own.

"**Okay, Dipper. Whatever you say,**" She brushed off this mistake as Dipper either getting Bill brushing off on him, or him being somewhat delirious. She figured it was probably a mix of both. She then realized he didn't have his blanket. "**Now, Dipper, what happened to your blanket? Here, I'll get a new one.**" She went to the closet and grabbed a somewhat-heavy blanket that she draped over her ill-brother's body.

"**Th-thanks... Sh-shooting... Star...**" Bill trailed off as he fell asleep. Mabel sighed in relief, but she was a bit confused why he would call her Shooting Star of all nicknames his delirious, out-of-it self could choose. She shrugged it off and grabbed the blanket in her own bed, then heading back to Dipper's and draped half of it over Bill, and she lied down back away from him and closed her eyes. This was something they would often do when one of them was sick as kids back home; it usually helped comfort both of them to sleep next to each other. Surprisingly, it had the same effect on Bill, who seemed to sleep fairly peacefully. Mabel smiled, not knowing that her actual brother was miles off and she was lying back to back with their worst foe.


	3. Chapter 3: Moonlit Night

"**What... what have I done!**" Dipper sighed loudly in exasperation, floating back and forth like he was pacing. "**Okay, so now I'm in the dream-scape. Bill has my body again, and I left him with Mabel. That... is bad. But the journal is safe and I'm not sick in the dream-scape, so those are good things.**" He forced a smile for a second, then sighed again and threw the blanket down. "**Was I really ****_that_**** desperate? Once I find a place to hide this journal until I get my body back, I need to make sure everyone at the shack is okay.**" He picked the vessel-blanket back up and carried the book with it.

The moonlit night was beautiful, and Dipper was shocked at what a view he got floating up above the pine trees. He wondered if Bill ever took the time to appreciate this. He doubted it; Bill wasn't one to appreciate things humans would.

He floated for a while until he reached his new secondary hiding spot; the tree where he had found the book. No one would expect him to put it back, right? And it wasn't like he could carry it around being a ghost, or bring it back to the shack with Bill. The dream demon always acted like he knew everything, but he couldn't see _everything_ and it was blatantly obvious he was too prideful to admit that. A being of pure energy and no weaknesses? Pfft, how about arrogance for a weakness?

Dipper stuffed the book and blanket inside the tree, making sure no one was watching him, then he closed it up. He sighed and wasn't exactly sure what to do next. He decided in the end to go back to the Shack, even though everyone would be sleeping. Bill included most likely, considering how terrible Dipper had felt before giving Bill his body.

Dipper then realized he had been thinking in his head for a while instead of aloud like he usually did. "**Well, ****_now_**** that no one can hear me, of course I subconsciously decide to keep my thoughts in my head for once.**" He reached the Mystery Shack in a couple hours, taking his sweet time. It would be an hour or two until everyone was awake anyway, so there was no rush.

He floated upstairs, feeling very awkward going through walls, to check up on Mabel and make sure she was safe. There was himself and Mabel next to each other. The twins looked pretty adorable. _No, Dipper. That's not you and Mabel, that's __**Bill**__ and Mabel._ Well, at least he now knew why people always thought he was cute. The mystery twins, the most adorable twins in Oregon. Well, at least Gravity Falls. Not saying much as they were the only twins, though.

It was a whole different perspective and it was interesting. He still had to kill Bill's butt for sleeping next to his sister, among other things he'd done, but he felt this could be interesting. Bill could suffer through his sickness instead, right? The guy was great at lying. Dipper was curious how long he could continue his little masquerade.

He went back downstairs and hovered next to Waddles like he was lying down. Waddles couldn't see him even if he were awake and it was less creepy to be down here than watching his sister and... himself sleep. He closed his eyes, but he couldn't really sleep, so he floated there for the next hour and a half.

~~~~~

Mabel stirred and yawned as she slid off of her brother's bed. She stretched her arms and stepped into the sunlight filtering in through the window. She the turned back around opening her mouth wide, about to say a loud 'good morning', but he realized Dipper was probably still feeling bad and wouldn't want to be woken up. She walked back over and felt his head again. It was still pretty warm, but noticeably less than last night.

Mabel sighed in relief and headed downstairs and sat at the breakfast table. "**What's for breakfast, Gruncle Stan?**" she asked.

"**Waffles. How's the kid doing?**" He asked as he brought a plate of waffles over.

"**He still has a fever, so I'm letting him sleep in a while.**" She put some food into her mouth.

_The longer her sleeps in, the better._ Dipper thought bitterly. He floated over to listen in on the conversation better. _If he even dares hurt a hair on Mabel..._

"**The poor kid. Maybe this experience will help him toughen up a little, though.**"

"**I just hope he can start going on our Mystery Twin adventures again soon...**" She sadly pressed her cheek against the table. She seemed pretty disappointed her brother was sick. While this wasn't a surprise to Dipper, he was still very happy she cared so much for him. The two continued eating, suddenly falling silent. Dipper floated upstairs to check on Bill.

He floated above Bill, watching his slightly-ragged breath rise and fall. This felt very strange, as it was like he was looking into a mirror. A mirror that didn't mirror your movements.

It wasn't too long before Bill stirred and blinked up at the ghostly Dipper, whose face was turning into a wide grin. Bipper covered his mouth and coughed several times into his arm. He wheezed and glared up at Dipper. "**Y-you're going to pay for this...**" He was drenched in sweat and burning up from fever, although Mabel was right in measuring it wasn't as high as last night.

"**Will I?**" Dipper laughed a little at him.

Bill gave him another glare before pulling the blankets aside and standing up, which was surprisingly exhausting and dizzying. He wobbled on his feet a moment, then took a blanket to put around his shoulders as he staggered downstairs. Dipper floated at his shoulder, feet kicked up in the air. He was now officially enjoying this. Cipher was really stuck in his sick, defenseless body and was powerless, huh? He still couldn't believe he outsmarted the little demon.

Bill made his way into the kitchen and made his way toward the table. Mabel pulled out a chair for him to sit in. "**Hey, Dip, feelin' better?**" She asked as he half-collapsed into the chair. His head was pounding, but he kinda liked it. He liked and hated this sick thing. It made him weak and tired, but it also involved pain.

"**Y-yeah, better. Th-anks, Shootin' st-ar.**" His voice was hoarse and cracking, and he was grateful actually since that meant Stan wouldn't recognize him. He wondered what would happen if he were discovered. He knew either they would help him get out of Dipper's body, wait until Dipper's body was healthy, or keep it unhealthy and trap him forever. Well, those were just three options and his borrowed human head was too achy to think of anything better.

Stan was now suspicious. He couldn't recall Dipper ever calling Mabel 'Shooting Star'... He was probably referring to that sweater Mabel was almost always wearing. That reddish one with the star on it. Was he getting brain damage from that fever of his, or was something else going on?

Dipper face-palmed. Bill was being a sick moron, _literally_. At this rate he was going to blow their cover. Well, _his_ own cover. This would be a good thing in some ways to both of them, but Dipper wasn't ready to go back in there yet. He was beginning to enjoy this free feeling. He was curious why Bill liked having a human body when it was so susceptible to injury and sickness. This was much more efficient.

Dipper watched as Bill turned down the waffles and Mabel helped him back onto the couch where they sat together and watched TV. Mabel got up after a little while to make him something easier to stomach than waffles.

Dipper knew he couldn't stay out of his body forever, but he also didn't want to give Bill any power back. Somehow in that weak state, he was much more... tame. Less Bill-like. Perhaps he was a human before? Like an actual, legitimate human? That was a bit of a stretch, but possible. If he stayed out of the dream-scape too long, would he revert back?

He shook his head. No, he was pretty sure humans didn't turn into dream demons. But that would be pretty cool if they did, which would mean...

But no, the book would have probably said something about that and he had deciphered that Bill Cipher page to every last detail since he first encountered the demon. Nothing about how they were created. Perhaps they were just... created?

Dipper floated at Mabel's shoulder watching TV with the two. For now, he'd float around, lying in wait and watching how this story unfolds.


	4. Chapter 4: Rainy Afternoon

Bill sipped at the hot soup Mabel had made for him as the trio watched TV. The liquid was still pretty hot, so it was both painful and soothing, somehow. Like giving his throat and mouth tough love. Well, technically it was Dipper's throat, but that sounded awkward on so many levels. In fact, this whole situation was awkward. Dipper was just floating there next to Mabel like everything was normal. He had a feeling the kid was enjoying the dream-scape way too much for his own good. And for Bill's good.

It was a while before he was done with his food and by then, it had cooled down considerably. He put the bowl down on his side opposite to Mabel. He had been so focused on his food and avoiding Dipper's eyes he didn't really pay attention to what was on TV. It was some sort of children's show. He wasn't really sure what was going on, though. He pulled his legs into toward his belly and got warm and comfy in the couch and blankets.

Mabel put her head on top of his and reached her hand over to touch his forehead again. Bill was getting pretty tired of this; she knew he was sick, right? No reason to keep checking him. He kinda didn't understand how this "sick" thing worked. Or how being a human worked. He knew what he did by observation alone. After all, he was a dream demon, why would he care much about human affairs when he has limitless power? Enough to stick his nose into this mess.

He sniffled a bit and relaxed, falling asleep curled up in the blankets next to Shooting Star. She smiled and patted his head, turning her attention back to the TV. His fever was gradually dropping now, which was good, but she wasn't so sure how long it would stay going down. It would probably spike again, knowing her brother when he was sick.

Dipper frowned in disapproval. Bill must be enjoying this. Sure, Dipper was enjoying being free of his weakness and frailness, but he kinda missed Mabel's kind sisterly love and certainly didn't want Bill to have it. After all, Bill was the villain, and Dipper was the protagonist, right? That meant it was his duty to protect Mabel and make sure Bill couldn't get away with anything he was scheming. And Dipper was sure he was scheming something.

He floated into the other room as Soos and Wendy arrived to greeted Stan, then Wendy when to her station behind the counter. Hopefully some tourists would come today since the rain had stopped.

Mabel came in from the other room to say 'hi' to everyone, after making sure her brother was all tucked in and comfy on the couch. "**Where's the little dude?**" Soos asked Mabel after she had greeted him and Wendy.

"**He's feeling sick, so I'm letting him sleep on the couch for a while. He's really tired.**" The young girl explained.

"**Aww, poor guy. Hope he feels better soon.**" Soos said, sounding a little sad.

"**I kinda expected this; he seemed out of it all yesterday. He needs to learn to just tell us when he feels bad instead of forcing himself to go on trips that will make him feel worse.**" Wendy's words hit Dipper with crippling guilt. She really did care about him more than he knew, even if it wasn't in a romantic way. She wanted to know he was feeling sick? That didn't make sense since that would be just complaining. And it wasn't like he forced himself to go; he wanted to go. He couldn't be bothered with being a bit tired... right?

They had gone on talking while Dipper was lost in his thoughts. He was brought back into reality, not literally, by the sound of coughing coming from the other room. He winced, then watched as Mabel left to check on him. Dipper lingered to see if Soos and Wendy went on talking, but they both just seemed a little sad, then went to their jobs. Soos had some stuff to repair and Wendy had the counter to run.

He floated back into the TV room and watched as Mabel tucked him in better on the couch. It was probably better he was in the TV room instead of the attic, since it was a lot warmer down here. Plus it would be easy to get him something to eat from down here... what was he thinking; he didn't want Bill to be treated so nicely! He sighed in irritation with both Bill and himself.

Mabel was soon asleep on the couch, sitting at Bill's feet. Dipper approached the sleeping form of Bill and poked him slightly. He jumped back, covering his mouth as he almost screamed when Bill's triangle form just slightly drifted out for just a moment. Something seemed a bit weird about it, though. Dipper approached Bill once again and gently pushed out the little triangle just a little. The bright yellow of his usual spirit form seemed just a little... dim. It lost some of its normal sheen and color. Dipper watched it drift back into his sleeping body.

Well, he now knew that he could easy get Bill out of him. Now, what? He was still enjoying his freedom, but at the same time, he hated all the attention the dumb triangle was getting. Plus, if he let Bill go, wouldn't that just risk everyone's lives as he unleashed the demon back into the world? He had a feeling Bill wouldn't just forgive him right away... or ever, for this.

~~~~~

Dipper decided to go see what Soos was doing today, since nothing else interesting seemed to be happening. He had a ton of stuff to repair around the shack. It was interesting seeing what small jobs the guy took on; Stan really ought to pay him more. Although, he broke at least half the amount he fixed while trying to fix things, so those costs probably leveled themselves out.

After a while, Dipper decided to check on Wendy again. The poor girl seemed pretty bored; she just sat in the chair behind the counter and read a magazine. Only a few customers had come in today, so there wasn't much work to be done. He floated up next to her to see what was in it, but it didn't seem very interesting at all. Whatever it was, it must be something teenagers were into.

Dipper winced as he heard a clap of thunder outside the window. It was beginning to rain lightly again outside; that was probably why so few tourists came today. He sighed and decided to go outside, maybe see what was going on in town. Surprisingly to himself, he couldn't feel the rain. It was... strange to say the least, and Dipper had experienced some pretty strange things before. Well, at least he knew now that spirits in the dream-scape didn't melt in water or something, like his clone Tyrone, had. Of course, Tyrone was made of paper, so that made sense... He didn't know what he was thinking anymore.

He hovered around town, but nothing was really going on. Just people going about their daily business, trying to stay inside, boring old adult stuff. In the end, he just went back to the shack. Soos and Wendy were saying their farewells to Bill and Mabel. Bill was conscious again, but still looked pretty terrible. It was strange to hear the triangle guy's voice crack. He wondered if he was the only one hearing it as Bill's voice instead of his own; that would explain why Stan and Mabel hadn't caught on yet.

"**Careful not to get yourself sick too, Mabel. I know you guys are inseparable, but that doesn't make you immortal.**" Wendy warned Mabel. Mabel just smiled.

"**Don't worry about it. I've helped him when he was sick before; I know what I'm doing.**" They waved a final good-bye and left.

"**I wonder if it's possible your sickness was caused by something supernatural... Maybe we should see if something like this is in the journal...**" Mabel pondered for a moment. "**Where did you put the journal last night, Dip? I looked for it but I couldn't find it in its usual place.**"

"**I-uh...**" He coughed a little bit, which was a little too convenient of a moment for the situation.

"**Dipper, what happened to your journal?**" Mabel repeated. Real Dipper grinned. This was getting interesting; how could Bill cover this? The journal was somewhere he'd never expect and... well, this was too perfect. He gave Bill a wide grin as he gave Dipper a glance. He looked a bit nervous, which was hilarious for Dipper to see. This dream demon was cornered.


	5. Chapter 5: Thunder

"**I... uh... It wa-s Bill...**" Bill's voice cracked and was barely audible. Dipper heard him and raised an eyebrow. _What was he going to play at?_

"**What, Dipper? I can't hear you,**" Mabel asked, leaning closer to him.

"**Bill stole the j-journal... but he didn't destroy it b-because... h-he wants to harvest its p-power.**" He took a glance toward Dipper, who had a neutral expression pasted on his usually very expressive face.

"**Touche, my friend, touche.**" Dipper said, nodding.

"**Well that's not good; we need to find it right away! Come on, bro, let's-**" Mabel had grabbed his hand and was about to drag him out the door when she realized he was sick. "**Oh. Right...**" She let go of his hand. Her tight grip had left a slight red mark on his hand, which hurt a little, making Bill laugh a little internally.

He coughed some rough coughs with the crook of his arm and sniffled, lying back down. "**Sorry, Sh-Mabel. I r-really want to help find the b-book, but as you can see...**" Bill caught himself before he called her Shooting Star again this time, finally realizing he was the only one who called her that. _Took him long enough._ Dipper thought to himself.

"**I understand, Dip. Don't you worry, I'll find that evil triangle and kick his butt!**" She then swung a kick in Dipper's direction, which he dodged in spite of it unable to touch him. Well... he wasn't so sure about that. He might accidentally push out Mabel's soul into the dream-scape.

Bill snickered a little, causing himself to cough some more. It was worth it, though, Dipper's reaction was hilarious. And Mabel thought she was just cheering him up. Perfect. Maybe he could handle this human thing. No dealing with people's twisted imaginations for a little while; that was a bonus. Probably the only bonus. Still, Dipper was looking a little jealous that his sister was going out of her way for their worst enemy. His human emotions were pretty funny.

"**Need anything before I set out?**" Mabel asked. Bill shook his head, pulling the blankets to his chin and making sure they covered his feet. Mabel nodded and ran into the other room.

"**Woah, woah, woah. Where are you headin' so fast, Mabel?**" Wendy was just abut to close the door of her car. Soos was already gone.

"**I have to do something very important, normally I'd take Dipper with me, but, well, you know...**" She seemed a bit disheartened. "**Could you stay and check on Dipper once in a while while I'm gone?**"

"**Well... I was going to go hang out with the gang today, but seeing as this storm is rolling it, I bet it could get dangerous to drive... You promise you'll stay safe and come back very soon?**" Mabel nodded and Wendy went back into the shack. Mabel, on the other hand, ran straight into the forest.

* * *

><p>Back in the TV room, Dipper was glaring at Bill. Bill was grinning back. "<strong>Looks like you're the villain now, huh, Pine Tree?<strong>" His voice was still hardly audible.

"**You just sent my sister on a wild goose chase. I'm not one to take that sort of thing lightly.**" Dipper growled.

"**Well, you'd better go make sure she's alright. I think there's going t-to be a storm tonight.**" He did his best to hold his voice steady and seem menacing. A thunderclap sounded from outside, making Dipper flinch.

"**You're right. For once.**"

"**K-kidding me, kid? I'm always right.**"

Dipper didn't respond verbally, instead he floated quickly out the door into the rain. He went into the forest and searched for Mabel as quickly as he could. It was about fifteen minutes before he found her. She was racing through the rain toward the original place they found the book. _Well that's just great, first place they check is where I hid it. Either Mabel has an extremely acute twin sense or I suck at hiding things. Or both. Well, at least it's Mabel finding it and not Bill. She'd better not give it to Bill._

By the time Mabel reached the tree, she was soaked to the bone and exhausted. She panted as she opened the secret entrance and, to her surprise, was both a blanket and the book. "**So that's what happened to the blanket. And why would Bill put the book here? That's the kind of dumb thing Dipper would do.**" She mumbled to herself as she wrapped the blanket over her shivering form and snatched the book. She then closed the entrance and began running back to the shack.

She immediately ran upstairs, not passing through the TV room, and put the book in the secret hiding place. She then changed out of her sopping wet clothes and heading down to the TV room, still shivering from the rainwater. Her hair was still damp and she was feeling pretty cold and tired from running.

Stan, Wendy, and Bipper were all watching Duck-Tective, Bipper being half-asleep and having a damp washcloth on his head, but still catching moments of the program. Better than watching Baby Fights or some other more-dumb human Television Program in his opinion. He thought human TV was pointless... unless you're sick and can't move, that is. Otherwise, it was just a waste of time.

Mabel flopped on the couch next to Bill, sighing with exhaustion. Wendy turned her attention toward the younger girl. "**You did what you needed to?**" Mabel nodded. "**You alright? Some storm out there not long until the power-**" As if Wendy's words were magic, the power blacked out, leaving the four in the darkness.

"**Well that's just great,**" Gruncle Stan sighed. "**Well, time for bed, kids. Wendy, you staying here? Feel free to take the employee lounge or the couch.**" Wendy nodded, thankful to Mr. Pines for his hospitality... which probably only showed because he seemed pretty worried about Dipper.

Mabel sighed and got up. "**Come on, Bro Bro, let's get you to bed,**" Bill didn't protest in the least as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and half-carried him up to the attic. He still seemed pretty hot, and not in the good-looking kind of way. She couldn't see that well in the now dimly lantern-lit house, but from what she could see he didn't look too good.

She carefully let him fall onto the bed and covered him up with the couple blankets he had downstairs as well as the one that was still up here. She then gave him a gentle hug before getting into her own bed, still a bit shivery. She snuggled up in her one blanket thoroughly and fell asleep. Bill was asleep almost as soon as he was tucked in.

Dipper was alone. He flinched as the sound of thunder and a flash of lightning shone through the triangular glass pane, flooding the room with its eery white light for a moment. He didn't have much to do, so he carried Mabel's soaking wet clothes and the blanket into the wash room to get cleaned, then he headed back up to wait for morning.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, guys! First author's note. Sorry for the delay and that this chapter was a bit short compared to the others. Combination of colorguard practice all weekend and writer's block.<strong>

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews I've been getting. They all mean a lot to me, and I mean EVERY one. Makes me feel appreciated that people like my story.**

**Actual word count minus author note: 1190**


	6. Chapter 6: Heat

Birds chirped outside the window. The morning sky was a little foggy, but the storm had completely cleared Gravity Falls now, well, at least _for_ now. These summer storms were fairly unpredictable, especially to such a small, isolated town. Mabel was stirring in her bed. She groggily stretched and looked over to Dipper's side of the room. Bill was still fast asleep. She got out of bed, beginning to shiver from the icy morning air, and walked over to his sleeping jumble of blankets and Dipper.

She knew he was kind of afraid of thunder and lightning, but it was odd he wasn't being all jumpy. Maybe that was due to his illness disorienting him? She gently pulled back the part of the blanket hiding his face and put the back of her hand on his forehead. _He's hotter than last night! Okay Mabel, don't panic, you can go get Gruncle Stan to get some medicine for him._ He was also very pale, except for his cheeks flushed with fever, and the circle under his eyes were darker.

She ran downstairs, noting to herself she was getting a headache. She was really hoping that she wasn't getting sick, too. She needed to take care of her little Bro Bro, after all!

"**Gruncle Stan!**" Mabel called out as she saw him in the kitchen.

"**Morning, I let you guys sleep in this morning.**" He was sitting with Wendy drinking some coffee.

"**Thanks, but I think Dipper's getting worse. His fever is noticeably higher than last night, he's really pale, and he's really weak and tired-looking.**"

"**Let's take his temp again and get him some more medicine.**" Wendy said worriedly. She hadn't gone home last night, but she went home so her family knew she was safe earlier in the morning. It was late enough now that Soos was already working on repairing the TV satellite dish, which had blown off the roof last night. Insult to injury to the power outage that happened before the satellite blew off.

Mabel nodded and followed Wendy back to their room with the thermometer. "**Hey there, Dip.**" Wendy said surprisingly softly for her cool attitude. Bill moved uncomfortably in his sleep and groaned. Dipper was blushing as he watched her open his mouth and slid the thermometer under his tongue. She was surprisingly... motherly. This was an odd side of her to see. Mabel didn't seem to notice that strangeness as she watched the thermometer with worry. It began it's tiny, quit beeping noise and Wendy took it out.

"**103.7...**" Wendy read, sighing. "**Well, looks like someone is staying in bed today.**" She gave him a little smile as he stirred, half-opening his eyes. He tried sitting up, but Wendy pushed him down gently. "**Woah woah woah, there. You just lie there and rest. I'll get something for you and Mabel to eat.**" She then left the room, leaving Bill, Mabel, and Dipper alone to their own devices.

Mabel sat next to Bipper's weak body and gently stroked his hair. His head was damp with sweat and the warmth coming off it was very noticeable. He seemed so weak and fragile, and his hat was discarded on the floor at the foot of his bed. It was strange seeing him without his hat.

Dipper was glad that he still had his ghost hat on him. It felt weird to see himself without his hat. He looked down at the two. They both seemed pretty exhausted. He was kinda glad he wasn't in that awful human body. He just hoped Bill wouldn't... you know, kill it. Although, he was curious if when that body died, it would be his soul that dies or whatever is in his body. He had a feeling it would be whatever was possessing the body, considering what Bill's dream-scape form looked like when he saw it last. Almost like it was fading away...

But no, Bill would be fine. And so would Dipper's body. It wasn't like the fever was at something life-threatening like 106 or anything, right? Bill deserved a bit of suffering anyway considering he was an evil dream demon guy. Still, he kinda pitied the poor guy, considering it wasn't his own sickness, but _Dipper's_ sickness that Bill had to go through.

"**S-so... where's the j-journal...?**" His hoarse voice was weak and pathetic.

"**I put it in the hiding place. You know how Gruncle Stan gets around the journal.**" In truth, that was only a small reason she hid it right away instead of gave it to Dipper. She also didn't want her brother to stay up all night studying it when he was sick; he could get worse without any rest. Heck, even _with_ rest he got worse. Secondly, she still had her suspicions, considering the fact of him calling her 'Shooting Star' and the super obvious hiding place. Still, that wasn't really enough evidence. Now, if he asked her _where_ the hiding place was, that would be different.

* * *

><p>Wendy returned shortly with a couple medicine bottles and a bowl of warm soup. "<strong>There's oatmeal downstairs if you want some, Mabel.<strong>" She offered. She would have brought it up, but she only had so many hands and it was dangerous to go upstairs with no free hands and holding hot food.

"**No thanks, I want to make sure Dipper is okay first.**" Mabel combed her fingers through dipper's hair once again. She was a little hungry, but not much, surprisingly. She seemed too stressed about her brother's condition to want to leave his side to go eat.

"**Alright, how about I go get some oatmeal for you and you get him to take his medicine.**" Mabel nodded and began to pour the medicine into the little cup it comes with to measure out the liquid. "**Want some sugar in it?**" Mabel only gave her a nod again, then Wendy left the room. Mabel sure was worrying about her brother a lot, and she seemed pretty tired... which was one of the first symptoms Dipper had been showing. If Mabel started running a fever or even just started coughing, she was prepared to run those two to the doctor. Or at least start Mabel on medicine too and wait a day to see how it goes.

She walked back up after about ten minutes to find Mabel curled next to her brother, both siblings asleep. She smiled and put the oatmeal down next to the soup. Both things were still too hot anyway. She decided to go make sure there were no customers and check up on them both later.

The real Dipper just observed all this. All he could do without revealing himself, really. Being a human stuck in the dream-scape was kinda boring if you were not trying to be found. Wendy came back in another ten minutes or so. By then, the food had cooled enough, but not too much. She shook the twins to get them to wake up. Mabel yawned and rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "**Thanks, Wendy.**" She said, beginning to eat her oatmeal with sugar. Wendy had to help Dipper sit up so he could eat his soup. He seemed kind of reluctant, but clearly enjoyed the warmth of the bowl on his lap. Wendy put the backs of her hands on both their heads.

"**You're feeling a bit warm too, Mabel.**" She was no where close to Dipper, so it could just be her imagination, but better safe than sorry.

"**Really? But I feel fine.**" She seemed a bit surprised. She was eating normally and the only suspicious health-wise things were the warmth of her head compared to Wendy's hand and how tired she looked.

"**I want you to take some medicine just in case,**" Mabel shrugged and reached over to the bottle, pouring herself some and drinking it. It didn't taste too terrible... after she shoved some sugary oatmeal in her mouth.

While the twins ate, Mabel and Wendy chatted idly to each other. Bill was feeling too ill to butt in, plus he wasn't really interested. He shot glares at the smiling Dipper floating above their heads. Wendy had to go down to handle some customers and took their bowls down. "**You two get some rest!**" She advised as she made her way back down.

Mabel hopped him her own bed yawning, and curled up under her blanket, head poking out and facing Dipper. "**You 'kay, Bro Bro?**" She asked her exhausted brother... as far as she knew, she was addressing Dipper, anyway. It took a moment, but he nodded a little. Then he sluggishly pulled his double blankets over his head. Mabel sighed and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
